UW Student Researches Ocean Literacy

Una Lilja, a second-year master’s student at the University Centre of the Westfjords (UW) in Coastal and Marine Management, is researching how education systems prepare people to make decisions that support a healthy ocean. Her supervisor is Dr Catherine Chambers, UW’s new Director, who began her role on April 1 this year.

Her research focuses on ocean literacy, understanding the relationship between people and the ocean, and its role in shaping awareness of environmental issues, sustainability, and the responsible use of marine resources. The concept has gained increasing attention in recent years and is especially relevant in coastal communities, where the ocean is part of everyday life.

Una will explore how teachers use the ocean and coastal environments in their teaching, and how ocean literacy is integrated across subjects at all levels of education. She invites teachers to take part in a short survey, which takes around 2–5 minutes to complete and will be open for a limited time. Participants are also encouraged to share the survey with other teachers in their networks.

The survey, which is in Icelandic, can be accessed here: Könnun um haflæsi á Íslandi - Háskólasetur Vestfjarða